NO RESERVE

"United States", Starling, Thomas

The United States and Great Britain established in 1818 joint claim over the Oregon Territory - the region north of Spanish controlled Upper California up to the southern boundary of Russia's Alaska Territory at North latitude 54°40'. By the late 1830's this arrangement was beginning to fall apart. In the 1840's the expansionist Democrats, including their 1844 presidential candidate, James Polk, claimed the entire region for the United States. Their expansionist desires were expressed by Polk's famous campaign slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" The slogan also became a rally cry for Americans desiring to settle the territory. Following Polk's election, the dispute was resolved by the 1846 Treaty of Oregon, which struck a compromise that fixed the U.S./Canadian boundary at 49º North.

This handsome and detailed miniature map of the United States appeared in Starling's very popular Victorian miniature atlas. It shows U.S. claims extending into British Columbia, with the Western Territory taking up the entire Pacific Northwest. The large Missouri Territory extends to the Canadian border. The entire present-day southwestern United States, north to Timpanangos L. and including Texas, is still part of Mexico. A numbered key at left indicates 24 states, and 4 territories: Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Florida. Published by Bull and printed by Perkins & Bacon. The opposing page of text is a table locating various towns and cities of note.

References: Phillips (Atlases) #4319-84.

Condition: A

Minor soiling and a hint of offsetting. There are a couple splits where the leaf was removed from binding that have been closed on verso with archival tape.